


Belladonna

by BettyHT



Series: Trapper John [3]
Category: Bonanza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 23:10:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15784032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BettyHT/pseuds/BettyHT
Summary: Murder and what to do about the murderer are at the center of the story.  A threat to Adam's family brings the situation to a crisis.  Follows the Trapper John and Suspicion stories.





	Belladonna

Belladonna

Chapter 1

The knife always slid in so easily that it surprised her even though she had done it so many times. She knew the exact place to do it too. The first time, she had tried to stab the man in the back and had found the task very difficult. Getting the knife to go through all that muscle and slide against the bones to hit something to cause death had left her exhausted and covered in blood. She had nearly been caught in that one. She had washed herself and her clothing in a nearby stream and wouldn't have had a plausible excuse for being all wet and disheveled except for the fortunate fact of the rainstorm that hit as she headed back to that little town. The man's body hadn't been found until after the storm and predators had had hours to do their worst to it. No one had ever suspected he had been murdered. The supposition had been that he had somehow had an accident during the storm and been killed. She had killed only two more times in that little town before moving on knowing that too many murders there and people might begin to wonder if there was a killer in their midst even if the men killed were strangers passing through. It was only after working her way into the business in larger towns and cities that she had grown bold enough to kill citizens of the communities in which she lived. Men who insulted her, hurt her, or slighted her became potential targets. She couldn't kill all the men who hurt her, but she could kill some of them so she did. Her techniques had gotten so good too that she could slip that thin razor sharp blade up into a chest cavity piercing the heart of a man even as he looked into her eyes with lust thinking he was going to get lucky again. There was usually only seconds between the realization of the attack and their death. She could have wished for more time to watch them suffer but knew her freedom depended on a quick, silent kill.

It had all worked so well until that day in Virginia City when she had attempted a kill during the day. Her overconfidence had been her undoing. She had selected her target and walked with him into an alley. He thought he was going to get a little bonus for the event for which he had paid so well the night before, but she had something entirely different in mind. As she asked, he backed up to the wall of the building out of sight of anyone on the street. She told him to close his eyes, and that made him smile as he looked down at the short but beautiful woman smiling up at him. She was petite but curvy in all the right places and had doe eyes and full lips that promised so much.

"Do your best, darling. I'm all yours."

He thrust his hips forward then in an obvious effort to show he wanted what he thought she was offering. She pulled the knife from its hiding place in her long skirt and slid it up into his heart before he had a chance to say or do anything else. As she pulled it out and wiped it clean on his shirt just before he fell to the ground. Unfortunately for her, he was a big man and fell forward. She wasn't strong enough to stop him from sprawling where his head and shoulders could be seen from the end of the alley if anyone entered even a few feet. Someone did, and she heard a shout from that direction.

"Hey, what's wrong with ole Clancy there?"

As she turned to look, a very large man and a much shorter, smaller man in a green jacket were rushing down the alley toward them obviously concerned with the man now sprawled at her feet. There was almost no blood, and he was facedown. Her method of killing was so swift that there usually was little blood, but one look at his chest and they were going to know.

"He's collapsed. Go get the doctor. I'll stay with him."

Again, unfortunately for her, neither man left but the big man pulled his pistol and fired two shots in the air. "That'll bring help faster than either of us running for it."

By then, they were at her side. She stepped back and wondered how she could kill both quickly and was about to try when the sheriff and a man dressed all in black entered the alley too. The sheriff asked her what happened, but the other two men had rolled the dead man onto his back, and the man in black drew his pistol which he pointed at her head.

"Drop the weapon, ma'am. Now!"

"Adam, you don't know she's the one who done it."

"Roy, you see anyone else here?"

"No, but that don't mean she did it."

"Hoss, Little Joe: did either of you see anyone else here?"

Both men stood and shook their heads as all four men now stared at her. She noted that the eyes of the one dressed in black never left her even if the others looked down at the dead man several times and then back at her. His voice was cold, hard, but relatively soft as he spoke to her. She knew then that there was no way to placate him. It was always those with that kind of voice who were the hardest to defeat.

"I told you to drop the weapon. If necessary, I'll have Hoss grab one arm and Roy the other, and then I'll search you until I find it. It's up to you."

Slowly, she slid her hand into the hidden pocket in the skirt of her dress and pulled out the knife. "It was self-defense. He tried to force me to do something I didn't want to do. You can see how much bigger he is than I am. No woman should have to do something like that if she doesn't want to do it."

"But, Clancy always . . ."

"Hoss, she's only setting up her defense. Don't argue with her. She's getting ready for the trial and trying out the only story she thinks a jury might accept."

Roy had picked up the knife and took charge then. "Adam, I'd like your help walking her over to my jail. I don't know that she doesn't have another weapon on her. Until I can get that figured out, I'd like another man with a gun on her. Hoss and Joe, can you get poor Clancy on over to the undertaker? Does he have any family I have to inform?"

"He's got family back east somewhere. We'll have to go back to the ranch and look through his things to find the address. I know he writes letters to 'em so he must have the address there some place. Me and Joe will take care of letting them know, Roy. He worked for us. We oughta be the ones tellin' 'em that he died. We'll send his stuff to 'em too."

"Thank you, Hoss, Joe. Adam, let's get her over to the jail now before this crowd gets any bigger."

Quite a crowd had already gathered and were talking and asking questions. The three or four dozen people were likely to be a hundred or more though if they didn't get her moved soon. Adam used his pistol to indicate she should move toward the end of the alley. He wasn't ready yet to get too close to her not knowing if she had another weapon on her. They walked through the crowd ignoring the questions except to say that Roy would come outside and give them a statement after he had things down on paper. Once she was at the jail, Roy put her in a cell and locked the door. He told her he would get a blanket and cover the cell wall to give her some privacy but that she was going to have to undress and put on a dress he would give to her. Looking at Adam, he had a question.

"What woman do you think I can get who might be willing to supervise her undressing and dressing? I can't rightly have a man do that."

Thinking for only a moment, Adam had two suggestions. "Bessie Sue could handle her, or you could ask Charlie at the freight office."

"Adam, most people don't know Charlie is a woman."

"Roy, most people here know Charlie is a woman. They simply choose to let her act and live like a man because that's what she wants, and she does a good job hauling freight. She's a better driver than most of the men working there."

"Do you think she would be upset if I asked her?"

"She might be, but I'll ask her. She and Trapper have become friends and we've gotten to know her a bit better because of that. I'll ask her as a friend, and I think she'll do it." Charlie did agree to Adam's request as he made it discreetly. They made a quick stop at a dress store asking them to send over a plain dress as soon as possible and then headed to the jail where Roy already had a blanket ready to hang on the woman's cell.

"She won't give me her name so I had to send a deputy over to one of the houses to ask for some help. Her name is Donna Bella or at least that's the name she's using here."

"Belladonna, or deadly nightshade: now that seems appropriate, doesn't it?"

"She got here about two months ago."

"And we've had two unexplained deaths of men in that time both killed by knife wounds. That seems highly coincidental."

"You know, I was thinking along the same lines. As soon as I can get things straightened out here and get things down on paper, I'm gonna be checking out that part of things too."

"You've got a crowd waiting outside."

"I know. I suppose I ought to go tell 'em the basic story. They're gonna have a lot of questions I ain't for answers for yet."

"You can tell them that."

"They might bring up them other murders too."

"It's probably too late to prove anything."

"Maybe it is, but I might come up with something a jury would be interested in hearing at least. Well, I thank you for your help. I think we can handle it from here. Would you do me one more favor though? Your brothers are likely to be called as witnesses. Could you ask them not to talk to anyone about what they saw and that includes talking about it at home. Could you do that?"

"I can do that. What about me?"

"What you and I did, we did when there was already folks standing around and watching. I don't think it makes a whole lot of difference if we say we done what we done cause folks are gonna be saying it anyway. But for Hoss and Joe, it's gonna be her word against theirs so I don't want there to be any reason for anyone to doubt them. She's a smart one, I think, and she's gonna be mighty sympathetic to a jury of men looking at a little thing like her sitting there saying that big Clancy was trying to do something to her. The fact that she didn't look at all upset, her clothes was in good repair, and she had no injuries are gonna go against her, but I need your brothers to be able to testify to that. This whole thing ain't gonna be easy."

Agreeing to what Roy had said, Adam went to find his brothers who were finishing up on getting supplies. He told them what he had done and what Roy had asked. Then he said his goodbyes and headed home to tell his wife and Trapper what had happened. Things were likely to be tense over the next few weeks with a trial and then a possible hanging of a woman because of what had happened so he wanted them to know everything that had occurred in town.

Chapter 2

As expected, the case was difficult to prosecute. Donna was a sympathetic character sitting at the defendant's table dwarfed by her attorney and every man who came anywhere near her. Her attorney did his best to shake Hoss and Joe when they got on the stand, but both were able to tell consistent and believable accounts of the events of that morning when Clancy had come to town with them to load two wagons with supplies. When his wagon was loaded, they had told him he could go get a beer as a reward before they headed home. When they went to join him, they couldn't find him.

"Hoss said that Clancy never left a beer unless it was for a woman. That gave me an idea of where he might be."

"And where would that be, Joe." Roy let Joe tell the story without much interruption.

"Aw, Roy, you know a lot of men leave that saloon and go down that alley with a, ahem, a lady, to well, you know, do a little something private. Usually it's at night, but that alley turns at an angle so almost as soon as you walk down a short way, you're out of sight of people in the street. We headed there thinking to call his name, but then we saw her standing there so we knew nothing was happening."

"So what did you do then?"

"We walked down there to give Clancy a hard time, but we could see he was on the ground. She yelled that he needed a doctor. Hoss fired off a couple of shots so help would come."

"Did that work?"

"Yeah, you and Adam were there right away. It was no good though. When we got to Clancy, he was dead. He was stabbed."

"What happened next?"

"Adam pulled his gun on her and told her to drop her weapon."

"Objection!"

"That's all right, Your Honor. I'll call Adam Cartwright to tell the next part after I call Hoss Cartwright to tell the story up to this point."

The judge had told him to proceed, and Hoss was called into the courtroom and told his version, which matched Joe's. Then Roy testified to his part. When he finished, Adam was called and told his part of the story, which matched Roy's version of events, and people nodded in the courtroom because they had seen that part. Donna had been composed and not at all upset. She sat there and tried to be upset then, but knew she had made a mistake in the alley by not being distraught. Her clothing too had been intact and she had had no injuries of any kind not even a bruise or red mark anywhere. All the witnesses testified to that and her attorney could do nothing about it.

The weapon was introduced into evidence, and Doctor Martin and the undertaker testified verifying that the weapon and the wound matched. The only thing that was lacking was a motive. Roy had tied Donna to the two other men who had been murdered and Doctor Martin verified that they were likely killed by the same weapon, but without a motive or witnesses, that evidence could not be introduced. They knew she had done those murders but couldn't prove it. However, Roy's questioning had started the rumor mill running so most people had heard the theory and thought it could be true. Members of the jury of course weren't immune to the gossip but had said they could give a verdict and ignore what they had heard outside the courtroom.

Donna's attorney knew he had a tough battle. He put her on the stand to try out the self-defense option. She was small, and Clancy had been a big, powerful man verified by his cross examination of the Cartwrights who agreed that was why they asked him to help them that day. Her attorney thought he was doing a credible job of creating reasonable doubt until her temper flared. It was at that point that he knew his client was guilty and that she was likely to be found guilty too. It started when she was being cross-examined about the weapon and began to complain about her treatment by Adam and then in the jail.

"They made me disrobe in that jail. They had a man, or a woman dressed like a man, there to watch. It was humiliating. Yes, Charlie is a woman. You didn't know that but she is, and she watched me undress and then every day she came in there and watched me as I undressed and washed myself. I was humiliated every day."

Trapper John was sitting with Charlie in the courtroom and put a hand on her shoulder, but no one in the courtroom reacted much to Donna's outburst other than to feel some sympathy for Charlie. They knew how Charlie lived and liked Charlie. Charlie did a good job for the freight company, always treated people well, and helped out whenever asked just like when Roy needed assistance with a dangerous female prisoner. Donna's assault on Charlie only made her look bad to the jury and the spectators. Charlie had done nothing to her and didn't deserve the abuse. Too late, Donna realized her mistake. She tried to back off by saying Charlie was hurt by men and had to hide from them just like she had been hurt by men. Then she stopped talking. Adam leaned over the rail and whispered to Roy. Donna saw him and guessed what he said once Roy stood up to cross-examine her.

"You say Charlie's been hurt by men just like you been hurt. Do you think men been hurting you all these years?"

"I didn't say that."

"I asked a question. I only wanted a yes or no answer."

Donna pouted and didn't answer.

"So you think men hurt you and you wanted to hurt them back. Is that why you kill men?"

"Objection! My client is not on trial for killing men. She is being tried in the death of one man and she claims self-defense in that. I don't know what the cross-examination is trying to get at with questions like that but it is highly inflammatory and all questions like that should be stricken from the record and the jury told to ignore them."

"Oh, I think I know exactly why that question was asked and it could have been asked more correctly, but I'll let it stand if there are no more questions like it. Your client opened the door to that question with her earlier statement."

Roy nodded. "Your Honor, thank you. I don't need to ask no more questions. I think my point was made just fine."

"Objection, Your Honor. Now he's arguing his case already."

"You got any more questions for this witness?"

"No, Your Honor."

"Then it doesn't matter now, does it? You can both take a few minutes to get ready with your closing statements and then we'll let the jury decide."

Closing statements were made and the jury was sent into the jury room to deliberate. No one expected them to take very long to find her guilty. It was a surprise then when the jury continued to deliberate long into the night and were sent home to sleep without rendering a verdict. The judge told them not to discuss the case with anyone including wives or other family members and report again at eight the next morning. They were there and spent the entire day deliberating again. Even the judge was getting completely baffled by what was taking so long. Finally he sent a message to the jury asking if they were having some difficulty in reaching a verdict. The answer he got did not surprise him when he read the note from the jury foreman, and he realized he should have anticipated it. It took another full day before the jury was ready to pronounce their verdict and the judge waited to hear how they had ruled. The judge asked Donna Bella to stand to face the jury. First the jury foreman stood and spoke in a clear voice and with a dead stare at Donna Bella. The judge asked him to state the verdict.

"In the case of the murder of Michael Clancy, we find the defendant guilty."

The judge then asked if the jury had decided on a sentence. If they had not, then he said he could ask for a retrial, he could sentence her to life in prison, or he could sentence her to hang. The jury foreman looked at the other jurors and looked less sure of himself as he answered affirmatively that they had reached a decision. This time when he spoke, he looked at the judge and not at the defendant.

"We, the jury, recommend the sentence of hanging for the defendant in this case."

There were gasps around the courtroom. Even though many had no sympathy at all for Donna Bella, the idea of hanging a woman was a shock. Until that moment, most had not understood why the jury had taken so long to reach its conclusion. Now they understood. In a capital case, the sentence had to be decided by the jury. Obviously, they had not had a problem finding her guilty. It must have been difficult for the twelve men to reach a unanimous decision to hang a woman even for such a cold-blooded and heinous crime. Her attorney immediately stood and said that he would be appealing to the governor for clemency and a commutation of the sentence. The judge granted him two weeks to do so. It was a generous time frame and showed the judge's reluctance too to be the first one to have such an event on his record.

To her credit, Donna did the one thing that could help her case at that point. The courtroom was nearly silent except for the sobbing of the defendant at the defense table as she rested her head on her arms and cried. Her attorney tried to soothe her to no avail. Roy waited patiently for her to compose herself so he could take her back to the jail. He was in a terrible quandary as well. He had thought that she was likely to be sentenced to life in prison. His sister was quite ill, and he had planned to leave to go see her thinking it might be the last chance he would ever have to see her. Now he had this responsibility and didn't know whom he could get to take over for him. Clem was at home with a broken leg he had gotten trying to break up a barroom brawl only a week earlier. Roy looked around as he waited wondering what man would be responsible, trustworthy, and civic minded enough to help him out under these circumstances. He saw Adam standing with his brothers and father, and he nodded almost to himself. If this didn't get resolved soon, he knew whom he had to ask.

As the Cartwright group left, they were discussing Roy and the difficulties he was going to have with hanging a woman much as they would if put in a position like that. Trapper and Charlie walked out with them and Trapper disagreed with them that the hanging should be difficult. He said it shouldn't matter that she was a woman.

"Why shouldn't it matter, Trapper? She's a woman, and a little thing at that. I know what she did, but maybe she did feel hurt and threatened in a world of men especially considering how she had to make a living."

"Joe, she didn't have to make a living that way. Look at all the women here who make a living without doing that. She wanted the money and went that way."

"That might be true, but Joe has a point. She's only a little thing. Seems like locking her up would be enough." Hoss couldn't see to hanging a woman, but Trapper was adamant.

"Even a small sidewinder is deadly. They might look cute from a distance, but they crawl in your bedroll, and you might wake up dead. Some things is better not being among folks who wants to keep on living. She's one of them. She lives, and she's gonna find a way to make somebody else stop living."

Adam had been quiet but that comment made him join in. "It's probably true. We know she's killed before even if we can't prove it. Do we want to put others at risk because we can't see our way to treating her the way we would treat a man who had done the same thing? I know that Corinne is opposed to this and we've had this discussion. We'll probably have it again, but if you want equality than you get it in all its forms."

"I dunno. I still think a woman's got to be treated a mite different like."

The final word though belonged to Ben. "It will be up to the governor and the clemency panel now. It is out of the jury's hands and the judge's. The lawyer will make his appeal, and the board will likely ask Roy for all the records, and they will make the decision."

They all knew it was rare for the panel to commute a sentence, but under these circumstances, that was probably what was going to happen. They thought the most likely result was that the sentence would be reduced to life in prison. Then they wondered if Trapper's prediction would come true because she would have a chance at freedom then or at least the ability to take a life.

Chapter 3

In Carson City, the governor was unhappy to have the Donna Bella case handed to him, but he knew what he had to do. He convened the clemency panel calling justices of the state supreme court and the attorney general to serve with him. He had the attorney general contact Sheriff Coffee and the trial judge to get all the records in the case delivered to the panel for their review. Then they had to make a very difficult decision and he guessed it would take them nearly the whole two weeks to do it. It wasn't simply the merits of the case they had to decide but the precedent they would be setting and the will of the citizens when they wrote the state constitution and included capital punishment in it. While they deliberated, the case was the talk of the town in Virginia City especially among those directly involved in it. When the commutation was not decided in the first week, Roy decided it was time to talk to Adam about stepping in for him. He rode out to the Ponderosa to Adam's house early one morning to talk to him about serving as a temporary sheriff after he got the city council's approval for the move. When he arrived, he could see that Adam was ill at ease and waited until they had coffee and a chance to speak privately before he asked him why although he phrased it more as a statement than a question knowing how Adam didn't like divulging personal information.

"I hope you don't mind my asking, but things seem a bit on the unhappy side here today."

"Not only today."

That kind of statement told a lot. "I suppose it's been about that trial and such."

"Yes, we don't see things the same way. Corinne sees a sad soul, hurt and trying to protect herself."

"What do you see when you look at Donna?"

"A viper. She's got the eyes of a snake. No feelings at all. She looks at people like they're a meal to be consumed for her benefit or not. I don't think she has any feelings at all except anger, and we can see where that has led her."

"She's probably going to get her sentence commuted."

"Yes, I know, and at some point, she'll charm someone into helping her, and then someone else will die."

"You think she's a cold-blooded killer?"

"Don't you?"

"I have to say I agree with you. I've met a few men in my years in this job who had eyes like hers, kinda dead eyes. They got no feelings inside. Like you said, they either ended up getting killed or they killed others. Seems to be the way with ones like that."

Sipping his coffee, Adam eyed Roy over the rim of the cup waiting for the reason for the visit. Roy seemed reluctant to offer it so Adam guessed it was something unpleasant and probably that unpleasantness had something to do with a request Roy was going to make of him. He decided to force the issue. "So what task have you come to ask me to do and why do you feel guilty about asking?"

"You know, that's a habit you have that drives your pa to distraction and me too sometimes. It's like you know what I'm thinking." Adam smirked a little knowing Roy was only trying a delaying tactic as he tried to find the best way to broach what was apparently a difficult request. "Now, Adam, I know you're likely to say no when I ask this of ya, but hear me out. I wouldn't ask if this wasn't real important. My sister is real sick. This may be the last time I ever get to see her."

Adam did what Roy had asked him not to do and interrupted before Roy could finish his request. "Oh, no, you're not going to ask me to fill in for you! No, and it won't matter how much I listen and hear you out. I want no part of that job. I have a family to consider, and things are difficult enough right now. No, there must be other men who can do that job."

"Now, Adam, I did ask you to hear me out. It would only be until the clemency order comes down. Then she'll be shipped off and be the responsibility of the state of Nevada. Until then though, I need someone who can keep a lid on things in town. People are starting to feel sorry for her sitting in that jail and worrying about the gallows platform in the back there. You know we never took down the main platform from the last one. We'd have to build the top part again, but the main platform with the trap door and the ladder up to it is there. Ifn she stands on her cot and pulls back that wooden shutter we gave her for privacy, she can see it."

"So now they've forgotten what she did and remembering only that she's a beautiful little woman who might still stand there and have her pretty neck stretched for shoving a knife into Clancy."

"Well, you know how folks are. They get kind of emotional about how things are especially with a woman involved. Nobody wants Virginia City to be the first to hang a woman."

"Well, they're not going to lynch her so all you need is someone to sit at the jail and make sure they don't let her go. It seems anyone could do that."

"No, by my reckoning, it's more than that. Somebody needs to take the mood of the town and make sure no one does anything foolish. You got a way of calming folks down and making 'em see reason. You also scare 'em some. The combination is what I need so I can go see my sister."

"You should do it. You might find some feeling in your heart for this poor woman." Corinne had come from putting the baby down for a nap and heard much of the conversation. She looked to Roy. "Adam has no sympathy for how this woman must have been hurt to act the way she acted. He has no understanding of how difficult it is to be a woman, especially a small woman, when strong powerful men want something and you are not strong enough to stop them. He would never hurt a woman so he does not understand the fear that many women live with day after day. It can change a woman, and I think that it happened to this woman. I feel sorrow for her, but my husband has no room in his heart for her."

"Ma'am, she did kill a man, and probably killed others before she killed him."

"I am not saying she should not be punished. I am saying we should try to understand how she came to feel so angry at men, how much she must have been hurt by men to feel that way. She could learn to feel remorse in prison, and perhaps some day, she could live free and do good. Killing her is only revenge."

"Corinne, it is justice, and we would all be safer with people like her removed from our society. You don't understand how dangerous she is. You have never faced someone like her. I have. I have faced someone who uses a person for his own means and has no regard for that person as a person but uses them as an object to an end."

"I don't think that she is like that."

"You didn't see her after she killed Clancy. You didn't see the dead eyes and lack of emotion in her. I've seen that before. There's no soul in people like that."

"Everyone has a soul. She needs forgiveness and mercy to save her."

"Sweetheart, you can't save everyone."

"I think you're wrong. Everyone can be saved."

Roy guessed that he was hearing a small replay of the argument that the two of them had been having since Donna had murdered Clancy. However, there was no answer as the two of them were going to have to work that out for themselves, but Roy had the more immediate problem of needing a temporary replacement. "Adam, your wife has endorsed the idea. Please, can you help me out?"

They all knew he was going to say yes. He had such a sense of duty and civic responsibility that he couldn't refuse no matter how much he might argue about it or try to find a way to logically find another solution. He nodded with a sigh.

"When do you want me there?"

"I'll buy my ticket today and leave on the morning stage. If you could be there early in the morning so I can go over everything with you, that would be fine and dandy. Today I'll write everything down that I can think is important so you have something to go by."

"I'll be there by eight. How's that?"

"That works out fine. By then, Charlie will have Donna all set for the day so you won't have to worry about anything until evening. She gets a meal at noon, but it's a cold lunch and you can pass it through the bars. She gets a hot meal for dinner. I'll go through the rest of the schedule tomorrow when you get there. Thank you, Adam, Corinne."

After Roy left, Adam went to talk to Trapper about the week because he would be staying in town and therefore Trapper's duties would be greater as they were every time Adam wasn't home. His room was in the stable, but when Adam was gone, he took his meals with Corinne and made sure that the house was locked up each evening before he retired to the stable. He also kept a lantern lit on the porch on those nights that Adam was gone so that he could easily see the house and get there quickly if anything unusual happened. If there was a storm, he usually ended up sleeping on the floor next to the fireplace because Corinne was too afraid then to stay alone. That didn't happen much. The other possibility was that Hoss' wife, Eve, would come to spend a day and a night with Corinne. However Eve and Hoss hadn't been married very long and Hoss wasn't very happy with that kind of arrangement so it didn't happen often either. As it was, Trapper didn't think Adam had made a good decision either.

"You walking into that snake's lair without any protection. She's deadly."

"I know, but she's locked in a cell."

"And all she's got is time in there to think of ways to get out and do more evil. What if the governor don't change her sentence? Then what you gonna do?"

"I think they'll commute her sentence to life in prison."

"Yeah, but I'm saying what if they don't? Then you got the town to deal with on one side, and that little diamondback on the other. You might need some help."

"If that happens, I'll be calling for some help too."

"Might be hard to come by. Not many really want to see that woman hanging. Been talking with your brothers, and they're not even seeing it that way any more. Seems strange to me seeing as how Clancy worked for you folks and all, but that feeling like men gotta protect women kinda seems to trump other cards in this game."

"I guess I'll find out when I go over there. If I hurry, I can still probably catch Joe at the house with Hoss."

At the house, Adam found that Trapper's assessment had been correct. His brothers and his father were in favor of the commutation and didn't want to see Donna hanged. He seemed to be the only one left in the family who still thought that hanging was the proper punishment in this situation even though he still had serious doubts about the morality of capital punishment in general. Even with his doubts about it, there were times that he thought it was probably the best option, and this was one of those times.

"Why, Adam? Why dya think that little gal has to die? I mean, I know what she done, but she could be punished just as well by being in prison."

"Son, I have to agree with Hoss. I can't see that there is some benefit to be gained by executing her, and there is a big downside to such a thing."

"If we let her live, I'm afraid we're going to be guaranteeing that someone else is going to die, and maybe more than one before she's done."

"Aw, c'mon, Adam. She's locked up and has no weapons. What could she possibly do to anyone now?" Joe joined in the chorus against Adam's position.

"She's found a way so far. She'll find a way again. Give her enough time, and someone else will die."

Then Adam told them of Roy's request, and they had the same negative reaction to that as they did to his position on whether Donna should be executed. It was interesting to him that they argued that she shouldn't hang, but now argued that it was too dangerous for him to take the position of temporary sheriff guarding her. It didn't matter though because he had already accepted the job and Corinne had told him to do it. He explained all of that and got their grudging acceptance of his reasons and more importantly their offer of help should he need it. It was all that he could expect under the circumstances. He thanked them and got their good wishes before he returned home to complete what work he could do before he packed a bag to spend a week in town.

Chapter 4

The next day as Roy left town on the morning stage, he felt some guilt. He had left a list of instructions for Adam as well as a set of notes about the requirements of the job. There were three deputies assigned to help him, but there was trouble brewing too. There was a petition circulating in town to have conditions in the jail improved for Donna. Adam was going to have to deal with that. The barred walls of her cell were shielded by blankets except for the cell door. A wooden shutter had been built over the window so she could be protected from prying eyes there. She even had a chamber pot, water pitcher, and wash basin in the cell for personal cleanliness as well as a lamp because it was rather dark in there with the blanket wall and the shutter. The church sewing circle had dropped off a small quilt for her so she had that for bedding in addition to the blanket and pillow provided by the jail. However some wanted to do better than that apparently. Adam guessed they were completely unaware of how spartan and stark prison cells were for women. The first day on the job was rather uneventful as Donna seemed to be sizing up her new situation and didn't have much to say until after dinner. Adam got used to the routine but made one change. When Charlie was going to step into the cell to hand the dinner tray to Donna, he objected.

"No, have Donna stay back seated on her cot. You can set the tray down and come out. Then she can get it."

"It's all right, Adam. I've handed it to her every day since she's been in here."

"Charlie, I would feel better if you would do it my way."

Donna stood to object and moved to the open cell door as if to take the tray as she had since first being locked in this cell. Adam drew his pistol, pointed it at her, and ordered her to sit down on the cot. She froze as did Charlie who was shocked that Adam would take such an extreme action to Donna simply stepping forward.

"Adam, I don't think you need to do that."

"I do until she sits back down."

His voice as cold, hard, and quiet as she remembered it, Donna knew there was no fooling with him at that point. She sat down, and Charlie set the dinner tray on the small table inside the cell. She stepped out and pushed the cell door closed so Adam could lock it again. Adam knew Charlie didn't approve of his methods, but after talking with the deputies who spend the night there and with what Roy had told him, he had a suspicion about Donna. He was going to check it out the next morning. After locking the cell, he asked Charlie to come to the office and quietly told her what he suspected and why. Clearly skeptical, Charlie said nothing critical and agreed to do as Adam asked, but said she hoped he would keep a close watch on his temper.

"I wasn't angry at her there. I was worried about you. We'll find out in the morning if that worry was justified." He bid goodnight to Charlie then.

Later, Adam checked on Donna, and she challenged him then clearly wanting to see how he would react.

"You just had to show how big and tough you were, didn't you? You're just like all men. You have power and have to show it to hurt others."

"I didn't hurt you. I only made sure you couldn't hurt anyone else. I like Charlie. I did what I did to make sure she was safe."

"Charlie is twice as big as I am. You think I'm a threat to Charlie?"

"Clancy was twice as big too." Adam left the rest implied by the silence that followed. She waited to see if he would say anything more until her own nervousness demanded that she say something.

"When do you think the answer will come from the governor to give me a shorter sentence?"

"A shorter sentence? You're going to get a life sentence instead of the death penalty or that's what most think will happen."

"No! My lawyer said they would consider my claim of self-defense and that he was so much bigger and probably give me ten or twenty years. I could do that, but I can't do life in prison. That's impossible."

"That's unlikely seeing as how you were uninjured, and weren't even upset when we saw you. It's all in the statements that they can read as well as anyone."

"But I don't want a life sentence. That would be worse than hanging."

For the first time, Adam considered that perhaps a commutation might be the better alternative, but he still feared that she would gain her freedom somehow and that others would die.

"I want to talk to that governor and whoever else is deciding this. They have no right to make me spend the rest of my life in prison."

"Oh, they have every right to do it. But if you want to tell them that you don't want a life sentence, that's your right. I can give you some paper, and you can send them a letter if you wish. I don't know if they're finished with their deliberations or not, but if you write it tonight, then I can send it out on the morning stage and they'll have it by early afternoon."

"Well, I want to write and ask for that ten or twenty year sentence not life. Give me the paper. I'll tell them exactly what I think and what I want."

"It didn't work on the jury. It won't work on the governor."

"Give me some paper and let me have a chance anyway."

After getting paper and a couple of pencils for Donna, Adam left her to her writing. He told the deputies who came to watch her for the night not to open the cell door for any reason and made sure she heard him give those instructions. He finished with an emphatic warning and directions.

"If it's an emergency, get me from the hotel, and I'll make the decision. Under no circumstances, open that cell door unless I'm here. Is that clear? Your jobs and perhaps your lives depend on that."

The two deputies agreed although Adam could read the skepticism in their looks. They still didn't appreciate the danger she represented. He hoped they were at least afraid of him because it might save their lives. He left for the night after reminding them to lock the doors and not to let anyone in unless it was him. He returned in the morning to two deputies upset that they had to deal with Donna's complaints all night that she needed them to empty her chamber pot, bring her more water, and do various other tasks none of which could be done without opening that cell door. Obviously she had been testing them, and Adam told them as much.

"Go home and get some sleep. She won't try that again tonight now that she knows it won't work even after badgering you for eight hours."

By seven, Charlie was there with breakfast for Donna and to help her clean up her cell for the day. She had brought fresh towels too. Adam told her though that they were going to first complete the task he had outlined the night before. When they got to the cell, he told Donna to come to the door and show him her hands. She held them up.

"No, put them through the bars so I can see them well."

As Donna thrust her hands through the bars, she complained sarcastically that Adam had little to fear from her small hands. He grabbed them then and put handcuffs on her wrists pressing them together tightly because her wrists were so small. When he was sure she could not slip her hands out of the handcuffs, he unlocked the cell door and swung it open slowly forcing her to walk out of the cell with her hands effectively locked to the door. He nodded his head to Charlie who began to search her for weapons as Adam began to search the cell. It didn't take long for Charlie to find the sharpened metal slat from the cot hidden in the pocket of Donna's dress. Adam found where she had removed it from the cot and where she had rubbed it against the cot frame to sharpen it. He took the mattress from the cot and removed the cot from the cell leaving the mattress on the floor. Next, he took out the pitcher and basin replacing them with a simple tin bowl. He pulled down one of the blankets shielding the cell from observation too. The commode was still private but now the rest of the cell was visible from the office door. Adam planned to have someone sitting there from this point on and watching her. He looked at Charlie.

"Find anything else?"

"No, that was it, but it would have been enough. She's got a handle padded with cloth strips she must have torn from the quilt and her clothing. The blade is sharp enough to penetrate. She could have killed someone with it."

"I think she had you in mind last night and then you would have been shoved on top of me. At that point, she might have gotten my pistol."

"So we both would have been dead."

"That's probably true. I have a letter she wrote to the governor. I'm sending this weapon and a short report along with it today. They can consider all of it if they haven't made up their minds yet."

"I gotta ask. How did you know?"

"I saw it in her eyes."

"Her eyes?"

"The eyes give it away sometimes. She looked like a snake about to strike. I've seen those kinds of eyes before, and I didn't want to underestimate them again.."

Charlie knew there had to be a heck of a story behind that statement but didn't ask about that. "That was it?"

"The other thing was that Roy mentioned how she slept a lot during the day and how she looked like an angel as she slept so peacefully. But the deputies said they heard her rocking back and forth in her sleep all night as she was restless because they could hear the squeaking of the cot."

"And from that you figured out that she had made a weapon?"

"Not right away, but I had all day to think about it. There had to be a reason for it, and when I saw here looking like she was ready to strike, I suddenly knew it had to be that."

"Well, I'm glad you figured it out."

"Clean up the cell please, and then I'll be back to lock it up and unlock the handcuffs. I'll write up a quick report while you do that."

Donna was furious, but there was nothing she could do locked to the cell door as she was. "You're making sure I won't get a short sentence. If I hang, it will be your fault."

"Lady, if you hang, it will be because of what you did. After what you did, you probably deserve far worse than hanging, but you'll get that after the hanging."

"You're sure I'm going to hang then?"

"After this, I would think the odds favor it."

"You're a cold, cruel man."

"No, I believe in justice and law. I care for the men you murdered and the families and friends who grieve. You know far more about coldness and cruelty than I could ever begin to imagine."

Some ladies from the church came in later that morning though and shared some of Donna's thoughts about Adam when they saw the condition of her cell and the red marks on her wrists from the handcuffs. He told them why she was being treated that way, but again looking at the diminutive woman and the tall man as well as thinking about Charlie, the ladies couldn't accept the danger that Donna represented. The gossips had plenty to say that day and in the days that followed as more sympathy for Donna grew.

On Saturday, Ben and Trapper arrived with Corinne and the baby so that Adam could visit with his family. Because of Charlie, Trapper knew all that had happened and was aware too of the gossip in town. He had alerted both Corinne and Ben who were there to support Adam knowing how difficult the situation was getting for him.

"Son, when do you think the governor's office is going to let you know the decision?"

"I don't know. I thought we would have heard already. There's only three days left now. I'm beginning to think they're going to say go ahead with the execution."

"Because it's taking so long?"

"Yes, the commutation would be the popular decision. If they say hang her, then there's going to be an uproar and they know that. Hanging a woman is going to create a major political problem, but if there was ever a woman who deserved it, it's this one." Corinne said nothing making Adam frown. He looked at her. "Aren't you going to argue with me?"

"No, my heart is torn and my mind is all mixed up now. When I heard what she did and knew that you could have been killed by her and Charlie too, then I wondered if maybe you could be right. Now I don't know."

"I feel that way most of the time on this. I do think that the state killing people because they kill is barbaric on some levels, but locking someone up for life is barbaric too. Yet, when it is someone like this who will always be a danger to those around her, is it better to end her life or to risk her ending the lives of others?"

"I'm glad we're not the ones making the decision on this one. But I do wish you weren't caught in the middle of this. I'm worried about you especially with the mood of the town now. You should be home with your wife and son."

"Only a few more days hopefully."

"But what if they say to hang her? Do you have to do that too then?"

"Yes, sweetheart, I told Roy I would take over for him until he got back, and unless they set a date weeks from now for the hanging, I would be the one who would have to be responsible for that too."

There wasn't much left to say. It would be Monday before there could be any official communication from the governor's office. Until then, Donna's fate remained unknown even as she plotted a new way to get herself out of her predicament.

Chapter 5

On Sunday, the minister's wife led a delegation into the sheriff's office to demand that Adam improve the living conditions for Donna.

"She gets three nutritious meals every day, she has a comfortable mattress on which to sleep and a blanket and quilt to stay warm. She gets a clean towel and a clean dress every two days. Now that is a lot better than some women in this town have it."

"Adam, she has to sleep on the floor. She has no privacy."

"No, she sleeps on a mattress. She had a cot but used one of the slats to make a weapon so the cot was removed. We took down one of the blankets for that reason too. She has privacy behind that one blanket for what she needs to do."

"That is hardly sufficient privacy when a man could walk over there and look in at any time."

"Now you're not saying that we would do that, are you?"

"Oh, no, of course we wouldn't ever say that any of you would do that, but you must know that a woman would worry about that."

"Ladies, you do remember how Donna made a living. I don't think she has the same sensitivities as you fine ladies do, but we do respect her privacy and always announce when we are approaching her cell."

Donna decided to seize the moment. "No, they don't. They come and gawk and stare at me when they know I'm using the chamberpot. I have to do my best to hide myself but they still stare at me and make terrible comments. They laugh and make fun of me all the time. It's terrible what I have to live with in here."

"That's not true."

"When that awful Charlie man-woman comes here, they stand outside the cell and watch her with me."

"One of us stands to the side outside the blanket that gives her privacy and we're only there to protect Charlie." Adam knew how lame that sounded as soon as he said it. "She had made a weapon once. We don't want to take chances with anyone's life."

"Where is this weapon that you're so worried about?"

"It was sent to the governor's office with a report as to what happened that morning."

"So you don't have it."

There was murmuring then, but they were unable to get Adam to concede on any points. He said that he was doing his job, and if they had complaints, they could take them to the city council which was free to replace him.

"Adam, you know no one wants this job. We're only asking you to be reasonable, and treat her with some respect."

"I am treating her with all the respect I can muster, but I will not risk my life nor put anyone else at risk for her comfort. She has all that she needs, and I won't do anything more than what is being done now."

"I thought your father raised you to be more of a Christian man than this."

"My father raised me to be a Christian man but also one who watches out for those he has a duty to protect and defend. I'm doing my best to do that."

There was nothing more to be said, but Donna taunted him the rest of the day about what she called his abuse of his power and how he was abusing her. He ignored her and did his best to try to read. His family came in the afternoon so that he could have dinner with all of them. By then, all thoughts of disagreeing with him had vanished, and all the conversation centered on efforts to support him and try to make him feel better about what was happening. There was never anything better for a Cartwright than to have people turn against them or any one of them because then the family formed a solid front against all. Hoss and Joe even volunteered to take time as deputies if that would help. Adam declined, but said if he needed them, he would be sure to call on them and thanked them for the offer. By that night, he felt a lot better, but by the next morning, it vanished with the arrival of the news from the governor's office. A telegram informed him of the decision that the execution was to take place within three days of the official letter arriving from the governor's office. He informed Donna of the decision and got the crew working on getting the top part of the gallows constructed. Donna was very quiet that day, but the town wasn't as the word spread. The next day, the official letter arrived so Thursday was set as the official day for the hanging. When they heard the news, Ben and Corinne came to town again to be with Adam. Ben said they were prepared to spend the night in town so that Adam and Corinne could be together. He said that Hoss and Eve were taking care of the baby.

"It will be good practice for them. They told us today that they're expecting too."

Ben hoped that the good news might help offset the heavy load that Adam was carrying. It did help a little as did the fact that Corinne was there to spend the night with him. Adam woke in the morning to find his wife snuggling at his side and could forget for a moment what he had to do in a few days. Adam woke her though because he had to get to the jail soon and wanted to have breakfast with her before he had to start his day. At breakfast, they were joined by Ben and had been made aware too of how much sympathy had built up in town for Donna since word had arrived that she was to be executed. Most people looked at Adam as if he was responsible and there were muttered negative comments. Ben had had enough after about only ten minutes of that.

"I can't believe you have put up with this. This is unacceptable."

"Pa, they don't understand. It will all be over in a few days."

"That's not good enough. You're doing a job none would be willing to do." Ben stood then and got the attention of everyone there. "My son is doing a job that not one of you would do. He is not responsible for this decision, and it is unfair to blame him for what this woman has done. If she is being hanged, it is for what she has done. She chose to lure a man to his death and then proceeded to murder him in the most cold-blooded way. If you have some complaints, you should voice them to her. Perhaps you would like to ask Clancy's family what they would like done?" Ben had a voice and a bearing that made people listen. They may not have accepted what he said, but they weren't about to challenge him either. It got quiet in the restaurant.

"Thanks, Pa. I'll have a little peace and quiet, it seems."

After breakfast, Adam bid his wife and father a reluctant goodbye and headed to the sheriff's office with Charlie who picked up Donna's breakfast as Adam was leaving the restaurant.

"You're running a little late this morning."

"Nope, right on time. I've been at the office early the other mornings." Adam smiled then, and Charlie was glad to see that he had gotten some time to relax at least a little from the pressure of the job he had taken.

When they got to the sheriff's office, the front door was locked and no one answered when Adam knocked and called out. That was ominous. Adam ran to the back of the jail and found the door open and the two horses usually tied there gone. When he entered, his worst fears were realized. One deputy lay still with eyes wide open and unseeing. He had a bloody deep wound in his belly that hadn't bled much. He must have died quickly. His pants were missing as were his boots. The other deputy was holding his belly with both hands and a lot of blood had poured from him during the night. It was clear that he had been shot many hours earlier as most of the blood had already congealed on the floor. Adam wondered how he was still alive and knew it wouldn't be long before he died. In a weak voice not much louder than a whisper, he talked to Adam who knelt at his side and put a hand on his shoulder so he wouldn't die alone.

"We shoulda done what you said. He opened the cell and she shot him. I didn't know that was what happened. I didn't hear the shot. She took his gun and shot me. She put it in the quilt. Tricky of her, wasn't it, Adam?"

The man never said another word as his eyes lost their light and relaxed for the final time. Adam swore under his breath and heard Charlie do much the same as she entered the jail behind him. He turned and saw the derringer on the floor of the cell as well as the discarded quilt with the powder burns on it. Someone had smuggled a derringer into her somehow. She had used it to kill the first man and then grabbed his pistol, quickly wrapped it in the quilt to shoot the second deputy. She must have been working on this plan for a while to have worked out the details so well. Then she had taken the shorter man's pants and boots. He went into the office to find that the man's coat and hat were missing too as was a rifle from the rack. She was in disguise, was well armed, and had two horses and about a seven hour head start. It wasn't going to be easy to catch her.

"Charlie, could you go get Trapper and Hoss. I'm going to need them."

One of the deputies was single with no family in town, but the other was from the area and had a family too. It was going to be difficult to have to tell them what had happened. He was going to have to alert nearby towns to watch for her as well as organize a posse or two to start looking for her. His father was there though having been alerted by Charlie before he could leave town. He offered to get Trapper and Hoss so that Charlie could stay and help. He knew she would. That made things a little better for Adam.

By eleven that morning, the worst of those duties were over and two posses were ready to head out. Hoss was leading one and Trapper was leading the other. Adam went with Trapper and Joe went with Hoss. They had word from the stage driver that he had encountered no riders on the road to Carson City so they concentrated their search in the other directions. One posse headed down the road leading away to the south, and the other headed west hoping to find some sign of her. At the end of the long day, they had nothing. At the end of the second day, Adam's posse turned back and met up with the other posse who also had found nothing. As they sat at the fire that night, the posse members questioned Adam about his thoughts on the woman, and he admitted all of his doubts about what he was doing until he found the two deputies murdered.

"Then why did you do it? You didn't have to do it."

"That's where you're wrong. I did have to do it. It was my duty to do it when asked. I would do it again if asked. I hope to God I'm never asked to do something like it again, but if asked, I will."

One of the older posse members talked then. "I guess that's what made my boy go off to join the Union Army back when we was farming in Michigan. He didn't have to go. There was plenty of volunteers where we was so he coulda stayed on our farm, but he went. I guess he felt like you do. I don't understand it myself. Got my boy kilt. Same kind of thing got you in a heap of troubles. Is it worth it?"

With a small smile, Adam looked at him. "I can look at myself in the morning when I shave. So, yes, it is."

The man had another question for Adam. "But how did you know she was so bad that she would do what she done? You expected her to kill again. You said it to anyone who'd listen. Most of us didn't want to believe you."

"Because I had experience with someone with dead eyes like that. I underestimated him too at first. I thought that no one could treat another person like that, use them like that. I was wrong, and it nearly cost me my life. People like that are rare, but they are to be feared. There's something wrong, deeply wrong, with them and they have no feelings for other people. No one is safe around them."

Hoss quietly responded to him. "It was that Kane feller, wasn't it? That's the one like her that you knew."

Adam stared into the darkness in response, but it was enough. Hoss knew the answer. Adam had never talked much about those terrible weeks in the desert, but what he had said matched enough with the comments he had made for Hoss and Joe to know he was talking about Kane. It was still painful for all of them to think about that time although the memories were fading and the pain was less for Adam. He never wanted anyone else to suffer like he had suffered, but with people like that in the world, there were going to be other victims. Joe reached over and put a hand on Adam's shoulder. There wasn't much to say in a situation like this, but that contact was more important than Joe probably knew. Adam put his hand on top of Joe's and nodded slightly when Joe looked at him. Trapper and some of the others were curious as to what the brothers were discussing but knew better than to ask at that moment. They asked later when Adam wasn't around.

The posse was unhappy with not finding Donna and knew they would have to rely on wanted posters and authorities in other communities who had been alerted to watch for her. They headed back toward home the next day. As they neared Virginia City, they were met by Charlie.

"Adam, I think I know where she is."

"Where?"

"I think she's at your house."

Chapter 6

Hearing those words, the first urge Adam had was to ride for home, but he held his emotions in check because he knew he needed to know more. "Why do you think Donna is at my house?"

"Well, I know that Trapper usually takes care of things when you're gone, but he went with you. He told me Ben would be taking care of things, but that with Hoss and Joe gone, he'd have three wives to check on and reassure. I said I liked Corinne and could stop on over there to see to her and make sure all was well. When I went over there today, she answered the door but wasn't friendly. She acted like we hardly knew each other. Said she had to get back inside to the baby or I thought so at first. By the way, what's a cochon?"

"She said that?"

"Yeah, said she had to take care of the cochon, and I needed to run along. At first I thought she meant the baby, but then I wondered if that was what she meant. I started thinking that maybe she meant something else especially as she was acting so different like she hardly knew me and all."

"Yeah, Donna is in my house. Cochon means pig or any disgusting person. Corinne called her that when I told her about the weapon she had made and would have used on you. My God, what am I going to do?"

Hoss, Joe, and Trapper were standing with Adam. Joe was the one to answer. "You'll do what you always do. You'll come up with a plan. Now let's ride to your house. We can stop a half mile away. By then, you ought to have a plan ready, and we can talk it out."

The only answer Joe got was a slap on the shoulder before Adam mounted up to ride toward his house. The others followed. He did as Joe suggested and pulled the whole group to a halt about a half mile from his house, dismounted, and turned waiting for everyone to get within hearing distance.

"I'm going home."

Expecting disagreement with that, Adam waited for Hoss and Joe especially to voice their displeasure with that statement before explaining.

"She has to be waiting for me. If I show up, then her attention will be on me. I'll do my best to buy time and that should let a one or two of you hopefully get close enough to help. I built my house to be easily defended, but unfortunately that makes it difficult to approach without being seen in a situation like this. My plan is this. Joe is small enough that he should be able to work his way through that small ditch that drains away from the house." Seeing the look of dismay on Joe's face, Adam was quick to reassure him. "It's been dry lately and unless Corinne has been taking a lot of baths, it should be mostly dry in that ditch. That's why I suggested you. There's enough cover for a smaller man to stay hidden and out of the muck at the bottom, I think."

"Then what?"

"Do you think you can still shimmy up a tree and cross a porch roof in your stocking-feet like you did when you were younger and snuck in through my window so Pa wouldn't know how late you came home?" Even in that situation, some of the men had to snicker at that. Now they had something to hold over Joe's head. "That pine at the back corner of the house should be strong enough to hold your weight to get you up on the rear porch roof. From there, you can go in through one of the bedroom windows."

"I can do that."

"You know the layout of my house so that puts you upstairs against her. I'll be downstairs. Anyone have a pocket or boot pistol I can borrow?" One of each was offered up and Adam took both. He knew she would take his pistol rig but doubted she would be brave enough to search him. "The rest of you can make your way on foot to the stable and wait there. There's a door in back that will get you in without being seen from the house. If you hear a shot, rush the house."

"Dadburnit, Adam, that could be too late."

"I know, but if she sees someone approaching the house, she's liable to shoot me and probably Corinne too."

Trapper though had an idea. "Adam, I can get close without her seeing. I think I can get one other man there with me. It's something I showed Hoss how to do when we were hunting."

"Lordy, I forgot all about that. Yeah, Adam, I'll go with him and we can be right there, and she'll never see us. Ifn you give us time, we'll be up at the house same time you are. Right, Trapper?"

"I reckon we could if he gives us about half an hour or so to cover that distance and a little time to get ready. We'll wait near the kitchen and go in there when you go in the front door."

Trapper and Hoss explained then how they were going to get close without being seen. Trapper had learned the technique from the Paiute. He had adapted it, and he and Hoss would use their blankets, cover them with brush and grass and then move slowly along the ground only a few feet or yards at a time. Anyone watching would have to be looking directly at the spot to have a chance of seeing them move. They guessed that with Corinne in the house, Donna wouldn't be able to keep that close a watch on anyone approaching and would likely be expecting riders or men on foot not two men on their bellies with blankets covering them. Adam agreed and the two men set out ahead of everyone. Joe rode around to the lower end of the property to work his way up to the house via the drainage ditch.

After waiting a half hour to give the three men the head start they needed, Adam headed home at a normal pace. The others were a short distance behind him. Worried to the point of being nauseated with sweat running down the back of his neck because of his fear for his family, Adam had to breathe deeply and do his best to remain calm and act normally. He knew he had to walk through the front door of his house as if he was arriving home without knowing a madwoman was holding his wife and child hostage and wanted to kill him. He rode up to his front porch, tied off Sport to the hitching post there as if he was anxious to see his family and would take care of his horse later. He bounded up the three steps with energy opening the front door as he swept off his hat ready to greet his wife. That is, he was ready to do that until he saw Corinne tied to a chair in front of their fireplace and heard a pistol cock behind him as the door was pushed closed.

"We've been waiting for you."

Startled despite knowing Donna was going to be there, Adam was more affected than he anticipated seeing Corinne tied to one of their dining chairs. It worked to his advantage though in making Donna think that he had had no idea she was in the house before he got there. Her attention was solely on him which meant that Hoss and Trapper could move into the kitchen and Joe could get into the upstairs bedroom. Adam's job now was to stall for time so the others could get in position to do more to help him and Corinne.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Laughing softly at her special surprise, Donna motioned with her pistol for Adam to move further into the house as she firmly closed the front door. "Drop your gunbelt, and don't try anything heroic or your wife will pay the price first."

Reluctantly Adam did as requested hoping he could find a way to get to one of the two pistols he had hidden away. First he wanted to know where his son was so he asked.

"I've let your wife take care of him. I have no argument with a baby and it kept him quiet mostly. He's upstairs now sleeping. That may not last, but that's all right. It doesn't matter now if he cries."

"What do you want?"

"I want you to sit in that chair next to your wife." She motioned to another dining chair that was next to where Corinne was tied. Apparently Donna had been waiting for him and probably anticipating his arrival knowing that the posses wouldn't find anything.

Once Adam was tied to the chair with a rope looped around him and the chair, he asked again what Donna wanted.

"Now you see, I thought you were smarter than this. You should know. I want you dead. I also needed a place to stay for a couple of days until the posses gave up. I presume that has now happened. I'll kill you and then head out with no posse on my trail for probably a full day or more."

"How are you going to manage that?"

"Well, you see, I've always had to kill fast so I wouldn't get caught. This time, I get to watch you suffer. I've decided the best way to do that. When I'm done, I'll leave and no one will know who did what to whom."

For the first time, Adam realized that Donna intended to kill Corinne too. "She's done nothing to you. In fact, she was one of the women arguing against you hanging and one who argued for you to have better conditions in your cell."

"That doesn't matter. She's your wife, and watching her die is going to make you suffer so that's what matters now. I've thought about this a lot the last couple of days, and I think that will make you suffer more than anything. She'll die before your eyes, and then you can watch your blood leak out. When you're dead, I'll set this place on fire and leave. No one is likely to realize for quite a while, if they ever do, that the two of you were murdered. It will take even longer for anyone to figure out it was me, and even then, there won't be any proof."

"You would kill my son? He's done nothing to you or to anyone."

"He's your son. That's all that matters to me. Knowing that he's gone will hurt you so that's what's important."

"Adam, I'm so sorry. You were right. About everything." Corinne had to believe that Adam had a plan. He was too calm by her analysis of the situation. The thought of Donna killing his son should have caused a greater reaction in him. He was playing Donna and Corinne decided her best action was to try to help him.

"Right about what?"

"He said you were dead inside and had no feelings for people. He said the only emotion you had was anger. I thought that couldn't be true. I thought you should be given a chance to change and to get out of prison."

"And what do you think now?"

"You spent most of two days with me and my son. Yet after that time, you would kill us like we were nothing more than insects. You truly have no feeling inside."

"You'll see plenty of feeling when I get busy with you."

Adam appreciated that Corinne was engaging Donna in conversation. Every bit of talk they could get her to do helped their friends and family get in position to help them. With Joe upstairs, Adam knew their son was safe. How to keep his wife safe though was burning at him. All he could think to do at the moment was to keep Donna talking and decided to appeal to her pride and let her boast. "Is that how you feel something? What did you feel when you killed those two deputies? How did you manage that by the way? I gave them strict orders not to open your cell."

"It was easy. I had more power over them than you did. I retched up my dinner almost as soon as you left for the night. It wasn't difficult. I imagined something horribly disgusting and then stuck a finger down my throat until I started gagging and then it all came up. The one asked me then if I was all right and if he should call you to get the doctor. I told him not to bother because I was going to die anyway. Then I lay down and sobbed for a time. I'm sure his heart was breaking listening to that. Then I struggled to my knees and tried to stand up. Somehow, I couldn't and fell next to my mattress with my hand all tangled in the quilt. I struggled to free myself and then apparently passed out and couldn't be roused. The fool opened the cell even as the other one ran in and said not to do it because you said not to do it, but he came running too when the first one said I might be dead as he shook my shoulder and tried to wake me. As soon as the second one got close, I pulled that quilt up under the belly of the first one and fired right up into his heart with both barrels. Well I only meant to fire one barrel but those darn derringers have a tendency for one barrel to ignite the other. It shocked the second deputy so much though that he gave me the time I needed. I grabbed the pistol out of the holster of the first one and had it wrapped in the quilt to silence it enough before the man knew enough to draw his. It was too late by then. I shot him. I knew he was going to die slowly. I enjoyed seeing him like that. After I took his pistol away, I took the pants and boots from the first one and went to get his coat and hat. I tucked my skirt up around my waist and tied it up there. I looked like a little fat man probably if anyone was looking. I had to laugh a little thinking about that. It was late though so who was going to be looking? See, I feel things other than anger."

"You're disgusting."

"Oh, you'll see how disgusting I can be in just a little while. I know you're just trying to get me to talk more. You're buying time, but it won't do you any good in the long run. It just means it will take longer to get to where you die. I don't mind either. I've never had a chance to enjoy any of my kills. This is going to be a lot more fun. I think I'll use a knife on her. I like them better than anything else. You must have a nice selection in your kitchen. Be right back."

Donna turned and walked to their kitchen. As she neared the door to the kitchen, Adam whispered furiously to Corinne. "Get ready to knock your chair over sideways away from me. Do your best to break the chair if you can to get free of it. All hell is going to break loose here in seconds."

Chapter 7

All hell breaking loose was probably an understatement. So much happened so fast and at the same time that all of the survivors had trouble explaining it later except for the part they did. Hoss and then Trapper stepped from the kitchen as Donna approached. She raised her gun but theirs were already up. She turned to retreat and to use Adam and Corinne as hostages and shields, but they had already toppled their chairs. Adam had managed to damage his chair enough to loosen the rope and had the pistol from his pocket out already. Trapper and Hoss couldn't shoot at Donna with Adam and Corinne in the line of fire, and Adam had the same problem with Hoss and Trapper directly behind Donna. She was moving rapidly and none of them could take a chance on hitting the wrong person. Joe yelled from the stairs for everyone to get down so he could get a shot. That however only distracted them enough that Donna fired a shot at Joe to make him duck, and then she darted for the front door. They couldn't shoot her in the back so they chased after her instead.

Outside, she saw a large number of men running toward the house from the stable. She untied Sport's reins from the hitching post and mounted up to ride away realizing that everyone else was on foot. She kicked Sport into a fast getaway, but he balked a little. She wasn't that good a horsewoman but managed to stay in the saddle and then gave him a gentler kick to get him going. He did then until Adam whistled for him. Abruptly he stopped and whirled to come back to the house. Completely unprepared for such a maneuver, Donna lost her seat and fell. She tried to keep the pistol in her right hand thinking she still had a chance to defend herself. As a result, she fell awkwardly and lay crumpled on the ground. The men approached cautiously knowing what she had done to the deputies in the jail.

"Ya think she's faking again, Adam?"

"Hoss, I don't think so. I can see the pistol in her hand." Reaching down, Adam pulled the pistol from her hand. It was the one she had taken from the deputy in the jail. "She must have stashed those two horses around here somewhere. Why don't some of you men look for them The way she is, she probably didn't do anything for them. They'll be hungry and thirsty." It was only then that Adam knelt down and turned Donna over onto her back. She groaned in agony as he did so. She was alive, but Adam guessed there were internal injuries. "Where does it hurt the worst?"

"My side is burning. It feels like fire."

Donna moved both hands to her right side. Adam pushed them aside and probed causing her to cry out. He looked up at Hoss.

"The liver?"

"Looks like about the right place. Long fall from a big horse like Sport for a little gal like her. She mighta torn it up or even got a broken rib in it. Either way, she's probably bleeding inside pretty bad by the way she's fretting."

"We can take her to town but likely won't do any good."

"I'll get the carriage hitched up for ya."

"Thank you, Hoss. Thank you for everything you did helping me save my family."

Hoss nodded in acknowledgement before he walked toward the stable with some of the men. Joe asked if there was anything he could do.

"Joe, thank you for all you already did. I'd like to go be with my family if you could take charge here. It's really my job, but right now, I don't have the stomach for it."

"I can do that for you, Adam. Hoss and I can get her to town. From the looks of things, she may not make it there alive anyway."

"I can hear you, you know." Donna's voice was weak and strained but the irritation in it was still clear.

"There's no reason to keep the truth from you. What you've got is probably going to kill you within hours. If you have any conscience or soul in there, you don't have much time left to pray for forgiveness or spend eternity regretting that you didn't."

"I don't believe in any of that hocus pocus. I prayed for help when I was a little girl. It never came so I don't believe in any of it."

"You'll soon find that it was a mistake to give up so easily. I'm sorry you had a tough childhood, but lots of people do and don't decide to kill people to make themselves feel better."

"What do you know about having a tough childhood?"

Adam looked at Joe who smiled at him. "She'll never understand anyway, Adam. You go on up to your family. I made sure that your son was safe before I did anything else."

Joe got one of those rare hugs then from Adam, and both had tears in their eyes when it was done. It was something that Donna would never understand. Hoss did though when he saw it because he knew the family was still strong even if they had their disagreements. Their prediction was correct too. Donna died shortly after arriving in town. Doctor Martin said it was a severely lacerated liver and that she had bled to death from internal hemorrhaging. Her belly had been rigid and swollen by the time she arrived at his office. He wouldn't have been able to do anything for her anyway except give her laudanum. Even that was too late as she had slipped into an unconscious state shortly before arriving in town. There was no longer any sympathy in town for her for her painful death after what she had done to the two deputies. The funerals had been that day, and seeing the widow and her children mourning the loss of the husband and father murdered by her was enough to make everyone realize that Adam had been correct all along. If she had freedom, someone else would die. He had predicted it and that had happened.

The next order of business was finding out who had brought the derringer to the jail. It didn't take long for Adam to find that out when he got to town later that day. A derringer is usually a woman's weapon or a dandy's. He brought the weapon around to the saloons that evening and had the owner identified within an hour. He confronted her soon after that. She looked haggard and ill as if she had been suffering for a few days.

"I know what I did was horrible. It didn't seem like it at the time. I thought she would use it to get them to unlock the cell and then she could lock them in it and get away. I never thought she would actually kill anyone with it. All I ever had to do was point it at a man and get him to back off. I never hurt anyone with it. I never expected her to do that."

"But she did and you gave her the means to do it. You know what I have to do, don't you?"

"I know. I'll go with you."

When Roy arrived in town five days later after visiting with his terminally ill sister for a couple of weeks, he went straight to the jail. The news of what had happened was in the papers all over the region so he knew the gist of the story. He wanted to hear the rest from Adam. When he got to the jail, he found Adam wasn't there. Clem was there on crutches and there were two new deputies who were introduced to Roy before Clem sent them out to do rounds together and warned them not to get lost.

"Both have experience but in smaller towns. They know what they're doing, but neither one has ever been in a town with more than two streets to it. I can't go out to show them around so I've been trying to teach them the city using maps."

"Where's Adam? I thought I left him in charge."

"You left him in charge of Donna Bella. He took care of that and then took care of the case right after that of the woman who gave her the derringer she used to get out of jail."

"How'd he take care of that?"

"He took her statement and went to the judge and talked about it. They decided that she never meant for Donna to hurt anyone but only to get out of jail so they charged her with accomplice to jail breaking and gave her the maximum sentence for that with the option of getting out on good behavior, which she'll probably get. She had to agree to plead guilty for that so that there wouldn't be accomplice to murder charges and maybe a hanging with the mood of the town now. The judge agreed. I don't think he wanted to deal with a woman on trial for murder again. She's over in Carson waiting to be sent to the prison."

"So things have calmed down around here?"

"They have. Like Adam said, justice shouldn't be based on the mood of the town. It should be based on the facts of the case. By going with that, he got the emotional part tamped down pretty good. He even got us these two new deputies. He said he knew some people who might know some men who would like to work here, and these two applied after he sent out telegrams. They've only been here two days, but I think they're going to work out very well."

"How's Adam doing with everything that happened?"

"Hard to say. I can't read him. I guess you'll have to ask him or ask his family. He hasn't been back to town since he sent those telegrams for me and got the plea agreed with the judge. He came to me then and asked if I could take over again. I've had a couple of men who've worked for us part-time filling in at night until these two get more settled in, and we still have Slim."

"Guess I can't blame Adam at all. He had a heck of a time of it. I never expected the governor to say she was gonna hafta hang anyway, but what she done to them deputies was horrible. Why didn't she just lock 'em in her cell once she got the drop on 'em? It woulda had the same effect. Nobody woulda come after her for the same length of time and nothing else woulda been different."

"Roy, all I can think is what Adam said when we talked about it. She liked killing men, and that was an opportunity she wouldn't pass up."

"Clem, you know most women take such joy in being able to bring life into the world. To meet a woman who took her joy at ending lives was a big shock. It goes against everything I've ever thought about women."

"It sure does. It makes you wonder how a woman ever got to be like that. I hope I never meet another one like her. Adam went through her things trying to find out what her real name was but there was nothing there to give him any clue. He thought that if we knew her name maybe we could find out what kind of life she had before she got here. I guess we'll never know why she was that way."

"She must have had a terrible time of it with some man or men at some point and all she wanted was to get even. She ever say anything to explain it?"

"Adam said she said she prayed for help when she was a little girl and it never came so she gave up on praying and believing in God. Whatever it was, it must have happened a long time ago. Of course with the life she chose, there were probably more things that happened along the way. We know that's not an easy life."

"No, it sure isn't. I wish we didn't have women who did that, but it's been around a long time."

"At least things have been quiet in town now that all of that has been settled. It's like people have taken some time to take stock of their behavior. I know it won't last, but I'm grateful for the break."

On the Ponderosa, things had been quiet too. Adam had spent the previous several days at home with his wife and son. He didn't want to go anywhere for a while. Ben told Hoss and Joe to let him be and let him have some time to himself knowing that Adam would need that to think through all that had happened and come to terms with it. The deaths of the two deputies were probably weighing heavily on him, but nothing anyone said was going to help much. He needed to work through that first before they discussed it. Corinne was good for him that way knowing when he needed comforting and when he needed to be challenged in his beliefs. Ben knew that Adam had made a good choice in a wife because although Corinne could be quite feisty and argumentative, she was also supportive and as loyal as any wife could be. She loved Adam deeply, and Ben knew she would suffer with Adam as he struggled to come to terms with the losses incurred because of Donna.

The first to venture over to see Adam was Hoss, and he came back with an invitation for all of them to come to dinner on Saturday. "It's a party. Trapper done asked Charlie to marry up with him. They're gonna live at Adam's place when she's not on the road. She'll keep working for now at least. Adam said he'll add a bunkhouse for them and they'll both stay there. He seems real happy about it too."

"You think Charlie will wear a dress for the wedding?" Joe snickered but Hoss' glare and his father's disapproving look made him stop. "What? I thought that was funny."

"We need to accept Charlie as she is. Trapper has, and Adam and Corinne have accepted her that way. There's no reason for us to question her choices. She has been a good friend and she's a good person. That's all that should matter."

"You're right. Sorry. I won't make any more comments about how she dresses."

"Good, now, Hoss, did Adam want us to bring anything on Saturday?"

"He asked if Hop Sing could come over and help Corinne in the kitchen on Saturday. That's all. He said with the baby and all, she will have a tough time getting everything ready. He can do some things, but we know we don't want him fixing the food. He's a good trail cook and not bad at fixing up a breakfast, but I don't think he's ready to tackle cooking dinner for twenty."

"Twenty?"

"Yeah, all of us, Roy, Paul and his wife, and folks from the freight company, so it will be about twenty in all."

Joe's next comment mirrored what all of them were thinking. "So Adam must be all right. He's giving a real party."

It was a great party too. As the party was winding down, Adam sat on his porch with Hoss, Joe, and his father. The wives and children were in the house with Charlie, and many of the men were passing a jug around down by the stable with Trapper. Hoss broached the subject that had the family worried.

"Adam, are you upset that we didn't support your ideas about Donna. I mean you was right about her from the start, and we were wrong."

Pausing only a short time, Adam was ready with his answer because he had thought about it a lot. "No, that doesn't upset me. It was an opinion. I could have been wrong. What matters is that all of you were there to support me when I needed it. You did it without question and gave me all the support I could have ever expected. I had the advantage of having known someone like her before, but I never talked enough about Kane for you to understand the similarities that I saw. Now that you've seen her, you know better what I faced with Kane." Adam paused then as memories hit him. He shook them off and continued. "If you ever run into someone like either of them, you'll know like I did, that you can't trust them for a second. They're like Trapper said, a diamondback no matter how small or pretty is just as deadly. You can't give them the opportunity to strike."

"Sad though that some folks got so much poison in 'em like that."

"Hoss, she even picked a name that brings up the idea of poison. Donna Bella or belladonna, deadly nightshade. She probably thought of it as her own personal joke on the world."

Ben puffed on the cigar that Trapper had gifted to all the male guests. "Well, we at least didn't have to have the notoriety of being the first city to hang a woman. I suppose, sooner or later, there will be another woman with the black soul of the devil in her and the state will have to let a woman hang in Nevada."

Quietly, all three watched the smoke rings rise as Ben continued to smoke and blow them out.

Note:

In 1889, Elizabeth Potts was convicted of murder and the partial dismemberment of Miles Faucet, and she was hanged in 1890. She was the only woman ever to be legally executed in Nevada. Her husband, Josiah Potts, was executed at the same time because he had been convicted of the same crime.


End file.
